Chapter 22

Once on the highway, we made good time. Under a cloudless blue sky and with traffic thin, the miles slipped away. With my grip firm on the steering wheel, my mind wandered back to the eternal struggle.

As calm as I’d been with Kali, there was another lever in play. Yes, the Baron and I were locked in the same old dance. However, there was always a motivator. Somebody else was making a move. On their chessboard. But as always, it was guaranteed to affect...

With my chest tightening, I glanced into the rear. Huddled beneath a blanket, Susan and Desi lay motionless. Beside them, Charles, mouth agape and head back, was flinging loud snores at the ceiling. While scanning Mandy’s form, also curled under a blanket on the passenger seat, I let a quiet exhale escape.

“ ... more than just the others like them,” I murmured.

The chirp of my phone made me jolt. After checking the road ahead, I risked a peek. At the grainy image, it took everything to restrain a chuckle. Guess who wasn’t sleeping? A glistening set of pink folds was being spread wide. Glossy crimson fingernails? That was my clue. Mandy’s fingers.

Wait a second. How’d the sneaky little tease get my number? Well, now I had hers, so...

When my hand landed on her hunched shoulder, a low giggle confirmed my suspicions. Neither of us spoke, but each muted chirp brought another shadowy picture. As the morning progressed, a shiny finger, then one more, and finally a third sank into her. Each slow plunge was accompanied by a shudder and a soft moan.

Even when the girls awoke to resume their phone-based game, the chirping continued. When her husband sputtered awake and sniffled, I flashed him a smile in the rearview. After a nod, he worked his device. Through it all, his wife kept sending me the naughtiest of slutty shots.

But all good things must end. After a quick glance at the gas gauge, I cleared my throat.

“Hey, Charles.” I met his eyes in the mirror. “Gonna need to fill up soon.”

“Um, okay.” He nodded, then looked past me at the horizon. “I’ll swap with you.”

“Aww, you don’t have to do that. I’m fine,” I replied, unsure if my little photo slut might continue her teasing.

“Nah, it’s only fair.”

His expression said not to argue, so I shrugged and eased us off at the next ramp. A few minutes later, I’d halted under a tall white canopy at an enormous truck stop. A line of rigs occupied the distant section of a massive lot. Dozens of people moved between an expansive gift shop and a row of fast-food restaurants.

“I’ll pump,” I said, turning off the ignition.

With a groan, I left the car and stretched. The cracking of ligaments and joints echoed across the broken, stained asphalt. Charles rose with a long stretch and shook his head.

“You guys hungry?” he asked the girls as they stepped from the rear.

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

“Mandy?”

“No, um, honey.”

Although her husband didn’t notice how flushed her face was, I did. When he turned away, I caught the twinkle in her eyes.